Airbus to end A380 production in 2021, Emirates cuts order

14/02/2019

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has announced plans to stop the production of the world's largest commercial passenger plane, the A380 superjumbo, by 2021.

The costly aircraft has struggled to compete with more efficient, smaller models. "For us, the A380 is a wonderful aircraft loved by our customers and our crew". The lessor struggled to find new customers for the aircraft so much, that it made a decision to scrap the two A380s and sell them for parts.

Guillaume Faury, president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft and future Airbus CEO, said, "The A380 is Emirates' flagship and has contributed to the airline's success for more than 10 years".

Europe's Airbus is scrapping production of the A380 superjumbo, with lacklustre sales forcing it to abandon a dream of dominating the skies with a 21st century cruiseliner.

"As a result of this decision we have no substantial A380 backlog and hence no basis to sustain production, despite all our sales efforts with other airlines in recent years", the company's chief executive, Tom Enders, said in a statement. The company was forced to restructure, costing thousands of jobs.

The aerospace giant said the impact of the decision was "largely embedded" in the firm's 2018 results, which showed a net profit for 2018 of €3bn (£2.6bn) up almost 30% from the previous year.

Airbus said it would start discussions with partners regarding the "3,000 to 3,500 positions potentially impacted over the next three years".

Just days after this announcement, the company appeared to get a lifeline with the latest Emirates deal, but last month Airbus admitted the airline might now be reconsidering.

Politically Motivated Arrest of Philippine Journalist
Rappler's CEO Maria Ressa waits inside the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila, Philippines , February 13, 2019. An officer part of the serving party prohibits Rappler employees from taking photos and videos inside the office.

Seven women claim singer Ryan Adams was inappropriate
She claimed Adams stalled her music career and told her, "You're not a real musician, because you don't play an instrument". The next day, she called Adams to express her anger over the situation; Jaye ultimately never worked on music with Adams.

Airbus UK makes the wings for the A380, employing 6,000 staff at its main wings factory at Broughton in Flintshire, as well as 3,000 at Filton, near Bristol, where wings are designed and supported.

The A380, whose wings are made at Airbus UK, was a bold challenger to United States rival Boeing's dominance of the large aircraft market.

There isn't a single United States carrier that uses the A380, Chinese airlines have only bought the model in low numbers, and Japan - traditionally a big buyer of the Boeing 747 - has only recently taken delivery of its first A380.

Where did Airbus go wrong?

Airbus confidently predicted it would make about 1,500 of the giant planes.

Any decision to pull the plug on the iconic European double-decker after just 12 years in service must be approved by the Airbus board, which meets on Wednesday.

In hindsight, airlines were already turning their back on very large aircraft when the A380 made its debut.

The A380 is capable of carrying more than 800 passengers, but most airlines choose to transport no more than about 500 people, instead decking out the cabin with fancy features from in-flight bars to showers and multi-room suites that come with flourishes like butlers and sofas.

Boeing's 777X can carry 414 passengers in a two-class layout and will burn about 40 per cent less fuel per passenger than an the A380.

Related News:

Sims' lawsuit , however, claims Trump's campaign is trying to silence Sims by trying to apply an NDA to "information Mr. Sims learned exclusively during his federal service", according to The New York Times .

China has a strict internet censorship regime known as the Great Firewall and Reddit is among the sites it blocks. Reddit has also actively worked to clean up the platform, once flooded with trolls and inappropriate content.

Wall will undergo surgery some time next week on a ruptured left Achilles tendon, the Wizards announced Tuesday. The 28-year-old signed a four-year contract extension in July 2017 and is due to make $37.8m next season .

Palestinian officials, viewing the current US administration as having a pro-Israel bias, declined to attend the conference. On Wednesday, Netanyahu boasted of the strong ties Israel is building with Arab countries in the region.

It began development at Warner Bros.in 2003, then eventually landed at Paramount, though that studio let the rights lapse twice. He will executive produce the series with Scorsese, in addition to Rick Yorn, Emma Koskoff, Jennifer Davisson and Stacey Sher.

The U.S. believes Russia's new missile system could enable Moscow to launch a nuclear attack in Europe with little or no warning. The INF bans production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometres.

DIA officials spoke to reporters at the Pentagon this morning about the threats facing American dominance in space. China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the United States allegations were "groundless", as cited by Bloomberg .

Trump must nominate a permanent replacement for Long and that person must be confirmed by the Senate. Long said FEMA's No. 2 official, Pete Gaynor, would take over on a temporary basis when he departs.

IDC said the market outlook for this year is not optimistic, and that competition for customers will be severe. IDC blamed the high cost of the iPhone and perceived lack of innovation for Apple's struggling shipments.

Negotiations are reportedly still taking place, but the sources claim we may hear an official announcement some time this month. Big names such as GM and Amazon are already poised to dump boatloads of cash into the development of future electric platforms.

Most liked

53 cases of measles confirmed in southern Washington state
The health authority last released a public measles alert in September, after an infected person attended the Skookum Festival. It can cause complications including pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, seizures, deafness, brain damage and death.

Virginia vs. North Carolina Basketball Highlights (2018-19)
It wasn't flawless ". "It kind of stopped momentum there for a little bit, but we've still got to finish the game", White said. The Tar Heels will look to rebound in Winston-Salem on Saturday and won't have to worry about the Cavaliers again until March.

FBI Shares Sketches of Victims Drawn by Serial Killer
CNN has reached out to EJ Leach, the attorney representing Little in the Texas case, and has not yet received a response. He began drawing the portraits of his victims from memory a year ago with the encouragement of investigators.

Spurs 3-0 Borussia Dortmund - Mauricio's verdict
We deserved the victory in the end. "It's a massive victory and the players deserve all the credit because they were fantastic". They've won the possibility to have a few days off. "I can not tell you (my plans) but I am going to be out of England".

Cleveland Browns sign former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt
The actions have begun to be developed, and he has shown and led us to believe that he is willing to move forward here on this". He was in his second season with the Chiefs and one of their best players after leading the league in rushing as a rookie.

IBM's Project Debater unable to out-debate human
The proportion of people in agreement with the statement dropped to 62 percent after the debate, which made Natarajan the victor . Before this competition, Project Debater performed live in June previous year in front of the press.

LSU tops Kentucky on controversial game-winning tip
The Wildcats have been putting up 78.7 points per game on offense this season while shooting 47.7 percent as a team. The Wildcats hit two clutch free throws to tie the game at 71 with just over five seconds left on the clock.